For some people, being approached by a co-worker with a request is sometimes viewed as an inconvenience, especially when that requests asks a lot of us. Perhaps the co-worker doesn’t have a good understanding of what exactly you do, or what you’re responsible for.

If you want to provide a better interaction with those co-workers, immediately give yourself a goal when the interaction begins:

Help this person.

Avoid the temptation to slough them off on somebody else unless that person would be better able to help. Avoid making excuses for why you can’t help. Do what you can to make their situation a bit better. When the interaction is over, perhaps ask, “what else can I do to help you?”

Sometimes, the most productive move for your career is to improve the career of others.